Changing Perspective
by Setsuna-X
Summary: Steve's thoughts and attitudes keep changing the more he knows about Tony Stark. Pre-slash Steve/Tony, Stony. Told primarily through Steve's point of view. Slight AU. One-shot


"**Changing Perspective"  
**_By: Setsuna-X_

**Summary:** Steve's thoughts and attitudes keep changing the more he knows about Tony Stark. Pre-slash Steve/Tony, Stony. Told primarily through Steve's point of view. Slight AU. One-shot  
**Pairing:** Pre-slash Steve/Tony, Stony  
**Notes: **Some dialogue taken from the movie.  
**Disclaimer:** No copyright infringement intended. All characters are the intellectual property of Marvel & Disney Studios.

* * *

The first time Steve met Tony he was genuinely impressed with the Iron Man suit and the technology that was involved in making it. He also was glad for the extra help in taking down Loki. One can never be too sure how a battle with a self-proclaimed God was going to go. Steve tried to see Howard in Tony, missing his friend during the war, but all he got was this metal machine.

Once in the transport plane, heading back to S.H.E.I.L.D. helicarrier. Steve was hoping to get to know his new comrade more. But then the Thunder God, Thor, arrived and stole their captive.

Steve automatically assumed leadership and wanted to come up with a plan in getting back their captive, but Stark wasn't hearing it. Actually, Iron Man just jumped out of the plane with the worst and roughest plan ever. "I got a plan. Attack" – what kind of plan was that?

Infuriated at being ignored, Steve grabbed his shield and jumped out of the plane, hoping to find Loki, the unknown assailant at the time, and Iron Man.

After landing relatively safe in the forest he realized how far he was from the rest. Spurned by his annoyance at being ignored and it had been a while since any of his commands had been ignored, Steve rushed to find the other SHIELD agent. It wasn't that Steve required everyone to obey him unconditionally, and he always welcomed constructive criticism, but Stark didn't even give him that. He just ignored orders and wouldn't take a moment to even work as a team.

* * *

Once back at the SHIELD helicarrier, Steve saw more of the arrogance that made up Tony Stark. Although he could see some resemblance with the late Howard Stark, Tony was a whole other beast than his father. Howard, albeit a bit conceited and flashy, was also a team player and a courageous man. Tony, on the other hand, seemed unwilling to cooperate and it irked Steve that the brunet considered himself a hero.

Steve had to admit that he was impressed with Tony's intellect, especially after he apparently became an expert in 'Thermonuclear Astrophysics' over night. Steve wasn't a dumb guy, but the intricacies of the science and technology of this modern age still confused him.

The positive response he had toward Tony dwindled once again when in the same room as Bruce Banner, alias 'The Hulk'. Stark was purposely trying to incite the beast from Banner and was one step in putting the entire crew in peril.

Although Tony bothered him, what bothered him the most was that he was right. SHIELD really was building powerful weapons with the Tesseract. After the war, after losing Bucky, after encasing the artifact in the frozen ocean, they had to revive the technology and have it stolen. It now lied in enemy hands once again. It made Steve wonder if anything he had done in the past even mattered, all the people lost and some even forgotten, it didn't seem to matter now. It is 70 years in the future and Steve is still fighting the same battle.

After bringing back the customized tesseract weapon and stopping Fury's tirade toward Stark and Banner, Steve thought that now the team was on the same page. Yet he was proven wrong once again and he and Tony started at it.

Steve hated bullies, no matter who they were. He may be an American Hero, and have the American flag painted across his outfit, but he was more a representative of the little guy. And right now Tony was proving to be the bully.

The things that Stark said just annoyed him and if Steve was honest with himself, he wasn't entirely sure why. Maybe it was the way the man never took anything seriously or maybe because he never followed directions. Steve wasn't use to this kind of human attitude. Back then everyone followed orders, or was giving them. And back then it was him giving the orders. Maybe that's where their head-butting stemmed from. Stark wasn't a team player and Steve was a natural leader. Steve was also from a time where everyone was, at this point in time, considered 'old-fashioned', and Tony's natural ability to be flashy was unwelcomed and new.

After an argument with Fury, Natasha, Banner, Thor, and Stark, Steve couldn't take it anymore. Stark was once again trying to put the entire crew in danger.

"Why shouldn't the guy let off a little steam?" said Tony.

"You know damn well why! Back off!"

"Oh, I'm starting to want you to make me," Tony said, a threat underlying his words.

And that really incensed Captain America. It was no longer about Steve and Tony the men, it was now about Captain America and Iron Man.

"Big man in a suit of armor. Take that off and what are you?"

"Genius, Billionaire, Playboy, Philanthropist," was Tony's quick reply. Natasha's head quip was highly unnecessary.

Iron Man just kept pressing his buttons. Couldn't the brunet just admit that he had character flaws and be done with it?

"I know guys with none of that worth ten of you. And I've seen the footage. The only thing you really fight for is yourself. You're not the guy to make the sacrifice play, to lay down on the wire and let the other guy crawl over you."

Steve had lived in a time of war and in war you had to help out your fellow soldier. Stark was really starting to grate on his nerves and he wanted to prove to the other man that he had no business being at SHIELD.

"I think I would just cut the wire."

"Always a way out. You know, you may not be a threat but you better stop pretending to be a hero," harshly said Captain America. As soon as it left his mouth Steve knew he had crossed some type of line. But he just couldn't stop himself. No one else had ever managed to ever get under his skin quite like Stark did. Steve just didn't know how the other man did it without even trying.

"A hero? Like you? You're a laboratory experiment, Rogers. Everything special about you came out of a bottle," Stark replied without a second to lose. And that comment had stung. It was definitely something that had crossed Steve's mind through most of his life as Captain America.

What was he really? Sure he had helped prevent Hitler from taking over the word by taking down Hydra, but would any of that been possible without being a serum-made super soldier? It honestly kept him up at times, but right now it was more fuel in his argument with Stark.

"Put on the suit, let's go a few rounds."

* * *

After fixing the helicarrier's thruster engines and essentially saving SHIELD headquarters and all agents on board, Steve had to admit that there was more to Tony Stark than first meets the eyes.

Surprisingly they made an amazing team. When it mattered they both seemed to put their differences aside and work together. It made Steve want to reevaluate the opinion he had formed of Tony. After this, Tony really was a hero. He helped keep the helicarrier afloat, even at the cost of his life. If Steve hadn't been able to reach the lever and slow down the blades Tony might have been hacked and slashed up by now. This was definitely a thing that Steve had to try hard to put out of his head. It made no difference in trying to think of what-ifs.

Once realizing that Agent Phil Coulson was dead, there was an empty feeling in the pit of his stomach. This wasn't the first time he had lost a soldier and he knew it wouldn't be the last, but it didn't make the feeling any easier.

"He was an idiot."

Steve reeled when Tony said that. He couldn't believe he had heard that correctly.

"He was doing his job!" Steve yelled back. He didn't appreciate Stark downplaying Coulson's actions, especially since the man just died.

"For taking Loki alone, he was out of his league."

Dawning realization started inkling in Steve's head.

"Is this the first time you've lost a soldier?" Steve calmly replied.

"WE ARE NOT SOLDIERS! I am not marching to Fury's fife!" shouted Tony, losing his calm-control.

This might have been the first time that Tony lost someone close to him. Although Steve hadn't seen them pass away, even he had lost a lot of people from his previous life. It was never easy and the wounds of their death may heal, but the scars would never fade away.

"Neither am I! He's got the same blood on his hands as Loki. Right now we've got to put that aside and get this done."

* * *

There really wasn't too much time to think. Tony went ahead to try and intercept Loki before he could destroy his newly built STARK tower. Steve would have wished him luck, but had more important things to take care of first, namely a way to make it all the way to Manhattan without having to run there.

Upon reaching the battle Captain America noticed the absolute chaos Loki was wrecking on all these innocent people. He sent out a silent prayer to whoever was listening, hoping there weren't too many casualties.

Iron Man had safely made it to STARK tower and Captain America could see the red and gold suit swooping and destroying anything in its wake. He hadn't realized how important having someone in the air would have been.

Throughout the battle, aside from trying to destroy as many Chitauri he could see and rescue as many people within his reach, Steve meditated his previous encounters with Tony.

It was hard to connect the machine in the sky with the man that was in his face. Both had the snarky attitude, but only Tony got a reaction out of him. It left Steve wondering why Tony couldn't always be as cooperative as Iron Man. That in turn made Steve pause and realize what he had just thought. Here he is thinking that Iron Man and Tony Stark were two separate people, when in truth they were one and the same. Tony was Iron Man and Iron Man was Tony Stark. Sure, Tony seemed a bit more serious once in armor, but that didn't change his personality!

The realization just made him back-track to when he had told Tony to stop pretending to be a hero and Steve could feel his stomach tie in knots.

After seeing all the effort the man was putting into saving people, Steve had to seriously re-evaluate his previous opinions on one Tony Stark.

The man was a genius, anyone could see that; a mad genius with a billion dollars at his beck and call. In a way, Steve was grateful that Tony decided to become a hero, because he really would have made a formidable villain.

He couldn't see Tony as a villain though. Throughout the fight he could hear reports from all the Avengers, including Nick Fury. Fury, despite seeming to hate Tony, heavily relied on him more than the rest of them. Steve wasn't entirely sure what to make of that.

The fights continued to wage on around him and there was still no way to stop the flood of Chitauri entering the city. It was a disaster, but it looked as if many of the civilians were moved to a safer location. There were still many in the tall buildings nearby, but not as many as before. For that Steve was grateful. The last thing he wanted to have was a large death count on his hands.

He fought alongside the Hulk for a while, and with Thor. He had just finished launching Black Widow into the air, in hopes that she could reach the portal generator. Hopefully she could find a way to close it.

In a way Steve wanted to tell Tony to do that. Out of the rest of them he was probably the only one who understood the technology, even if it was enhanced with some alien elements. Yet he couldn't take Tony out of the sky. Steve could really see how essential Tony is not only the team, but to the world as a hero. He can't imagine that they'll get along like best buddies, but Steve really wanted to try. They would butt heads and argue and maybe fight, but for some reason Steve can envision a relationship with Tony filled with wonder and no dull moments.

It was more than he had at the moment. Currently Steve was living in an apartment loaned to him by SHIELD. In a way it made him feel like property – on the beck and call of Nick Fury. He didn't hate that really, but he didn't like it either. This new world was hard to adjust to, but the thought of going out and getting a normal job like everyone else both scared and bothered Steve. He's been in the army most of his life; there wasn't really anything else he was good at. The only thing he really had going was his art, but he didn't really see where he could get a career out of that.

In a way he kind of envied Tony. It was obvious from what he read and saw that Tony was in fact a billionaire. He had his own company, Stark Industries, and his own home, possibly more, and didn't care to follow Fury if it was inconvenient for him.

Normally he would hate men like that. Not because they have money and power, but because they would not be using that for the greater good. By how easily Tony infiltrated SHIELD systems it was obvious that they could really use Tony's input in their technologies. However, it didn't look like Stark was keen on sharing all his new toys.

Steve really wasn't sure where he was going with this. He knew now, after seeing Iron Man in action, that Tony is a vital part of the Avengers Initiative. Without him not many things about the tesseract would have come to light and many more people would have been dead without Tony.

Steve realized just how great of a hero Tony could be, which made him remember that one of the last things he had told Tony was that he had to stop 'pretending to be a hero'. Talk about harsh.

The blond winced as he recalled that little spat. Normally Steve wasn't that mean, but the urge to call out Tony was stronger than his morals. He never thought he'd see the day when he met someone so infuriating that he would lose all composure. It was petty, what he had said, and definitely wrong on so many accounts.

While his mind was wandering a flood of Chitauri ended up surrounding him.

Then, out of nowhere, Iron Man flew down and took out several of the aliens with his suits lasers. Steve had no time to think and fell quickly into position. Tony then aimed the laser at Steve and Steve immediately put up his shield and used it to reflect the shot back into the Chitauri.

It took about 10 seconds for everything to happen, and Steve was surprised at just how fluidly he and Iron Man worked together. It was as if they had been doing that for years. Steve didn't have time to analyze it further as more Chitauri started filling the area again.

Steve looked around and noticed that he was joined by Thor and the Hulk.

"I can close it. Can anybody copy? I can shut the portal down!" Natasha's voice rang through his ear. It seemed she made it unscathed to the top of the Tower and found a solution to this whole mess.

"Do it!" Captain America commanded, wanting to get this fight over with and save more civilian lives.

"No wait!" called out Iron Man over the coms.

"Stark, these things are still coming!" replied Steve. Was Tony crazy? They needed to shut this thing down.

"I got a nuke coming in. It's going to blow in less than a minute, and I know just where to put it," said Tony distractedly.

Steve could feel his heart making its way to his throat. He couldn't mean….?

"Stark, you know that's a one way trip."

Steve said his piece, but it didn't make it easier. The fact that Tony never replied back had him even more worried. He wanted to tell Tony that he was sorry, that he was a hero and deserved to be with the rest of the Avengers. If Steve didn't feel bad before, he now felt awful.

What was it that he had told Tony?

"_I know guys with none of that worth ten of you. And I've seen the footage. The only thing you really fight for is yourself. You're not the guy to make the sacrifice play, to lay down on the wire and let the other guy crawl over you."_

And here was Tony, making that sacrifice play. It killed Steve that they still didn't have the chance to talk again and clear up the air.

Steve looked up and saw Iron Man…or rather Tony, carrying the missile and heading straight to the portal. It's several seconds later that all the Chitauri around him just collapse, seemingly vanquished.

Steve kept looking at the portal, willing Tony to come out.

Then he saw the explosion nearing the entrance of the portal and he knows that they need to close that portal now. And it hurt, knowing that he might be trapping Tony on the other side of the universe with a massive fireball. But he's Captain America and he needs to protect everyone else and can't risk it for one man, even if that man is Tony Stark.

"Close it," said Steve to Natasha, regret lining his words as he glances at the floor, unable to take the disappointment and death of a teammate.

And they had so much potential…

Steve looked up one last time, needing to see this thing and his choices to their very end. He squinted his eyes, looking at the portal above. It looked as if something was coming through. Upon closer inspection he notices that it's Iron Man, making his way out.

"Son of a gun," Steve muttered to himself, a smile making its way onto his face. He couldn't understand it, but his heart was suddenly thumping against his chest and he was happier than he had been in a while. 'Tony made it out!'

"He's not slowing down," Thor said as he begins to wind up Mjolnir, thinking of a plan to catch their teammate.

Steve felt his heart make his way to his throat. He had just thought he got Tony back, only to lose him again in a matter of milliseconds.

Before Thor could launch himself in the air, Hulk was already climbing the building, leaping out to catch the falling Iron Man.

Steve could barely believe what just happened. He and Thor rushed over to where the Hulk had placed Iron Man. Thor tucked his hand under Iron Man, flipping the man over so they could see his face. As soon as Tony is flipped, Steve immediately placed his hand on Tony's stomach, just needing to verify that everything he had just witnessed was in fact real – that Tony was returned.

Thor grabbed Iron Man's mask and tosses it to the side, exposing Tony's face. His eyes were closed and there are some open wounds, but otherwise he just looks like he's sleeping. Steve doesn't know what to do. He half expected Tony to sit up and start acting like nothing was wrong, but obviously things didn't work out that way.

Steve leaned his ear over Tony's mouth, hoping to catch as hint that his friend is breathing.

_Friend? _

Where had that thought come from? It was just hours ago that Tony was an acquaintance, a teammate and nothing more. But Steve didn't seem satisfied with that association. Although they hadn't had time to talk it out, Steve wanted to actually get to know the man in the Iron Man suit. He wanted to get drinks or run work out drills, or maybe just get a cup of coffee on a Tuesday afternoon.

Steve wasn't really sure when he made this leap in his one-sided relationship with Tony, but he knew that he wanted all those things and more.

Tony wasn't breathing.

Steve could feel his heart shattering once more and he wasn't sure how much more he could take. He placed a hand on Tony's chest, right on the glowing light, which seemed pretty important. He could feel a light warm coming from the light. Steve slowly moved his hand along different parts of Tony's chest, trying to come to terms with everything.

Suddenly Steve remembered his training. He had been blinded by his grief that he couldn't think of it right away.

Steve leaned over Tony once more, his knees on the hard concrete floor. He pinched Tony's nose with his fingers and tilted up Tony's chin with the other, holding it in place.

He forced his own breath into Tony's still body, performing the CPR he learned as a teen. On the back of his mind Steve was contemplating that his lips were touching Tony's and that the brunet's lips were soft.

He could definitely do this all day.

Trying to ignore those niggling thoughts, Steve pressed against the Iron Man suit, right by the glowing triangle. Tony still didn't react and Steve leaned over again, forcing more air into Tony.

'Breathe, please breathe,' thought Steve desperately.

Suddenly, Tony coughed harshly and his eyes flew open wide.

"What the hell?!" yelled out Tony, and Steve could feel a warmth spreading through his body. He looked at Tony fondly, unable to keep his relief off his face.

Tony looks around, but his eyes settle on Steve as the blond is still leaning over him.

"Please tell me nobody kissed me," said Tony.

Steve could feel a blush overtaking his face as his eyes darted away.

"Our dear friend provided you with the breath of life," said Thor as he thumped Steve on the shoulder. Steve jerked forward at the sudden impact, almost falling on Tony.

"Huh," said Tony, not letting any emotion settle on his face.

"Sorry," stuttered out Steve as he rubbed the back of his neck, a blush still marring his face.

"For saving my life?" teasingly questioned Tony.

"What? No!" shouted Steve, not realizing that Tony was just messing with him.

"Relax Rogers, I was just kidding," Tony looked directly into Steve's eyes, "seriously, thank you."

Steve could see the sincerity in Tony's eyes.

"Of course."

"So what'd I miss?"

"We won," replied Steve.

"Alright, yay. Alright, good job guys," Tony half-heartedly celebrated, barely punching a fist in the air. "Let's just not come in tomorrow. Let's just a take a day. Have you ever tried shawarma?" asked Tony as he looked up at the Hulk.

Steve continued to look at Tony fondly. He felt so happy he wasn't sure what else had ever made him feel like that. Ever since Bucky died and he couldn't see Peggy that last time Steve had been a man out of time, full of angst and righteousness. But now, seeing Tony alive, he could recall all the good moments in his life. It was a refreshing feeling; something he didn't think he would have ever felt again.

"There's a shawarma joint about two blocks from here. I don't know what it is but I want to try it," Tony kept on, looking at everyone.

"We're not finished yet," Thor solemnly says.

Steve turned to the God of Thunder with a mild scowl on his face. Tony just got back from the dead and he couldn't let the man bask in that for a minute?

Tony fixes his eyes at Thor, looking mildly upset, but brightens quickly. "And then shawarma after."

* * *

After securing Loki and healing for a few days, the team meets up once more to send Thor and Loki back to Asgard.

They all happen to meet up at the same time. Steve arrived on his bike, wearing a plaid blue shirt, cream khakis, and soft brown leather jacket. He looks to his fellow Avengers and realizes just how civilian everyone looks.

Natasha and Hawkeye are wearing something you would wear to a park; Banner is wearing a sunny yellow shirt and khakis, while Thor and Loki are in their usual Asgardian garb.

However, when his eyes land on Tony, he could feel his heart skip a beat.

Tony arrives dressed in a silver-silk like suit with a complimenting tie and sunglasses complete with an arm sling and sport shoes. Only Tony could look like that and pull it off. The suit is obviously tailored to the man as it shapes his body just right.

Steve shakes his head slightly, wondering why thoughts like that have been invading his brain lately.

Since giving Tony CPR Steve hasn't been able to get the feel and taste of Tony's lips from his mind. He can remember the light warm the lips had, slightly chapped but still soft. He couldn't stop thinking about how he would like to try it again.

Steve is taken out his thoughts as he sees Thor and Loki ready to ascend back to Asgard. He glares at the Tesseract, hoping this is the last time he sees it.

Once Thor and Loki depart it looks as if everyone is headed their separate ways.

Steve caught up with Natasha and Hawkeye, thanking them for their hard work. He shook hands with Banner and thanked him for his help, especially for catching Tony.

"The big guy has a soft spot for Iron Man, ever since the helicarrier," said Bruce with a wryly smile.

Finally Steve caught up to Tony. The billionaire was standing next to his beautiful sports car.

"Stark."

"Rogers," Tony acknowledges, not really knowing where this is going.

Suddenly Steve grabs Tony into a hug, Tony's slanged arm trapped between their bodies. Tony tenses for a bit, only used to being manhandled by Rhodey, Pepper, or Happy, however he could admit that it felt nice.

Steve tightened his arms around Tony, holding on a little longer than necessary. He couldn't help it. Memories of Tony's lifeless body still flashed before his eyes and the memories were mixing with that of Bucky's fall.

He could feel Tony thumping him on the back with his other arm, somewhat reciprocating the hug.

"You're looking well," remarked Steve, as if he hadn't just hugged the other man.

Steve really liked how Tony felt in his arms. If it wasn't considered weird, Steve would have hung on even longer.

"Oh yeah, angry space aliens can't keep me down," boasted Tony with a roguish grin.

"I'm really glad you're safe, Tony," remarked Steve.

"Tony?"

Steve startled, not realizing that he had called the other man by his first name. He's been calling the other man 'Tony' in his head for so long he forgot that they weren't on first name basis yet.

Steve could feel his cheeks warming up again. "Uh, sorry. If you prefer 'Stark'…"

Tony cut in before Steve could finish his sentence.

"No, Tony is good. Steve," said the brunet, testing out the other man's name on his tongue.

Steve smiled brilliantly.

"Look, there are a lot of things I said before that I want to clean the air on," began Steve. He wasn't sure when he would see the other man and wanted to make sure he told Tony how he really felt about him.

"Don't worry about it, water under the bridge," Tony remarked as he flapped his hand in front of his face. "Already forgot about it."

"But I really.."

"Forget it, it's fine," insisted Tony, his voice a little on edge.

Steve widened his stance and Tony could see the man turning into Captain America.

"Okay, I get that I screwed up. I want you to know that I'm not saying this just for my benefit. I really want to talk about this, please?"

Tony looked right into Steve's eyes and he could see how earnest the other man was being.

"..Alright, but not now. What are you doing…hmm… next week?"

Steve released a breath he wasn't aware he was holding.

"I'm free all next week," Steve replied with a wide grin. Tony couldn't help but return it with a small, genuine smile.

"Excellent!" chirped Tony, "here's my number. Text me when you'd like to meet up and we can figure something out."

Steve looked on as Tony scribbled a series of numbers onto his hand. He could feel the calluses the other man had on his fingers. Tony's hand was nice and warm. They were strong hands and Steve didn't want him to pull away.

He knew that there was something going on here, some sort of chemistry. He didn't want to ruin anything though, so he would wait until their meeting next week.

"Perfect, I'll be contacting you, Tony," said Steve warmly. "You take care now and make sure you rest that arm."

"You too, Cap. See you later," said Tony as he boarded into his sports car. He honked his car horn twice.

"Come on Bruce, science isn't going to make itself!" shouted Tony across the yard.

"It happens all the time without anyone even noticing, Tony!" shouted Bruce back, but he made his way into the car anyway.

"I'll be waiting for your text, Cap!" shouted Tony one last time as he peeled out of the driveway.

Steve could only stand there, shaking his head in exasperated fondness.

He knew what was going on now. Tony made his stomach churn, his face warm up, and his heart thump just like Peggy used to do.

And boy, was he in trouble.

It won't be easy having a crush on Tony Stark.

* * *

THE END

A/N: I am planning on making a one-shot sequel to this, but not for a while as I am working on some older stories. I hope you enjoyed the story; any reviews welcome.


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